The article in Tuesday's (3/11/2008) science section entitled, "Kiss the Earth Goodbye," alarmed me greatly. I have no intention of kissing the Earth goodbye. It is a lovely place to live and I intend to be here for the duration--come Hell or high water.

As a poet, I am not like a lot of the other lunatics who write to The Times. I would like to assure you, and your colleagues, that I intend to take measures--very stern measures--against any and all Apocalypses in both the near and distant future.

Here are a few. Measures. Metaphorically speaking.

Yours sincerely,Sort of,

Eric

The End of The World

If I were more convinced that God exists,I’d probably have a quiet word with him:According to the Astrophysicists,The future of Manhattan’s looking grim.

A billion years from now, all the scienceSuggests our friendly little sun will swellInto a red, ill-tempered, gaseous giant,Devouring my apartment—yours as well.

No mention how this will affect our rents:This is a funny item to conceal.Let’s find a lawyer: there are instrumentsAvailable for renters to appeal

Still, it is nice to know that whatever political differences one might have with the occasional editorial stance of the Times, we can at least agree about scientific matters: that the end of the world would be a calamity for Republican and Democrat alike.